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Some players, when they enter the NFL, can take a while to adjust to the professional game. Others take to it immediately and begin to stamp their name and authority all over the league. Players who fall into the latter category will usually find their names come into consideration for awards at the end of their first season.
Ravens fans will be hoping this applies to first-year linebacker Patrick Queen. Queen is tied for the third-best odds to win the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to BetMGM. Only Washington pass rusher Chase Young (11/5) and Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons (11/2) have shorter odds than Queen, who can be got at 11/1. This is the same odds as fellow linebacker Kenneth Murray, who was picked five spots earlier. Jeff Okudah, the cornerback for the Detroit Lions, is currently sitting as a 14/1, making him the fifth favorite.
Linebackers have a track record of success in taking home the DROTY prize since the dawn of the 21st century. Of the 20 winners since 2000, 12 have come from the linebacker ranks. The most recent was Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts after he led the NFL with 163 combined tackles in 2018.
A Ravens rookie hasn’t taken the prize since 2003 when Terrell Suggs won the award after he posted 12 sacks and forced five fumbles in his first NFL season. But another member of the current Ravens squad has experience of winning the award. Cornerback Marcus Peters captured the trophy in 2015 as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Peters led the NFL with eight interceptions as a rookie, with two returned for touchdowns. Peters also led all players with 280 return yards and 26 passes defended.
For those in search of an outsider, another Ravens rookie can be had at longer odds than Queen. Malik Jefferson has odds of 80/1, making him the 23rd-best option, according to BetMGM.
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